A Hard Bargain
by Jumble Nut
Summary: :Tahno x Reader: "Whether he was famous or not, you couldn't remember, but his name.. His name.. Wasn't it.. T..? Tan.. Tah..?"
1. Tag

Tahno | Reader Insert | Futureverse

"_Whether he was famous or not, you couldn't remember, but his name.. His name.. Wasn't it.. T..? Tan.. Tah..?"_

**LOL I don't know what I'm doing right now; I just watched the trailer for the next LoK episode, and I just feel so damn **_**bad**_** for the guy. Like, at first, I thought he was going to be like 'wahaha still have jerkbending' but nah. Not even a temper tantrum or anything! He just looks like he aged a few hundred years or so. :\ Tahno just looks robbed of his soul or something. He needs'more luvin' and so does Bolin, but he's a main character anyways, so..**

**This Tahno one-shot first xD**

**Sorry for OOC/sobs**

A girl who calls a bluff, and a man who gets sucked in.

* * *

-7:45 PM-

"I have one, I swear! I have a boyfriend-uh?" you protested as you were pulled out of the shop by your friends. What wonderful friends they were indeed, for knowing when you were calling a bluff, ..like now. But they didn't want to hear any part of it.

"Ah, yeah?" your friend, Asa, questioned. Between her and Zhenzhen, she had known you the longest and knew that face you made when you were telling a lie and totally knew it. She blew a few strands of her light brown hair out of her eyes and swept it back behind her ears with the rest of her short hair. Zhenzhen continued to stare at you with light blue eyes. Her hair was in a high pony that split up towards the end into two thin braids. Her tall figure loomed over you as the two pressed on. "Well, then, who is it? Where'd you find him?" You almost heard a 'Why'd he want to date you? Why're you special?' but dismissed the statements to avoid getting extremely upset.

Buuut, you did kind of bring this on yourself. After all, who was the one who was touchy enough to deny being single just because you didn't know how to handle a guy crushing on you? In your derp moment, you had said that you were already in a relationship with someone else, and that's why you were so dumbfounded. Looking back at it, you didn't know whether it was a smart move, or a swimmingly idiotic decision. As you pondered, your friends were becoming impatient. "Look, [y/n]. We know you're lying. The jig is up, girl. We know you, but it doesn't matter if you have a boyfriend or no-"

"-But, I have one!"  
Really. You couldn't have just let it drop. No, of course not. You were too macho to let your pride dwindle like that. At that moment, you just wished your tongue could be as smart as it was fast.  
Oh, screw it. You got yourself in this, time to own up to your work. Now, to find a completely impossible boyfriend that would be so busy, you wouldn't have to be a real jerk-off to introduce to anyone.  
Someone busy, someone busy...  
Hadn't you met someone like that last night on your way home from work at the bakeshop?  
A vision of the man's sharp face came to mind, and the reminiscent feel of his grey eyes on you smacked you into your own little never-never land.  
He was a waterbender.. Whether he was famous or not, you couldn't remember, but his name.. His name.. Wasn't it.. T.. Tan.. Tah..?

"THEN WHO IS HE?"

"His name is Tahno! He's a pro-bender. We met a few (months) ago at the market.."  
The word "months" came out as a faint whisper, as the statement would have been true if that word had been replaced by "hours" instead. Your bluff, however, was still a bluff.  
"No way," they said simultaneously. "If he's your boyfriend, then why don't you introduce us?"  
You tried hard to keep your cool. Was it working? You'd better hope so! "He's usually too busy training anyways; we barely see each other now that it's that time of the season again." What a lie. Oh man, this had better be a one-time thing.  
Zhenzhen and Asa just frowned at you as you continued to stare at the building behind them. Suddenly, they turned, faces lighting up as, speak-of-the-devil, Tahno came around with his posse, turned the corner and into their usual hangout spot.

'I wanna die.'  
He was walking with a curvy woman hooked on each arm.  
'Just kill me.' NOW.

"Well, there goes your boyfriend." Asa said flatly.  
"Guess this means he's cheating on you?" Zhenzhen added.  
You didn't know if you were offended or just embarrassed. He wasn't even a friend or anything. How would you know he was actually a lady killer? Although... You guessed he had the looks for it..

You shook your head violently before stepping back into reality, where you had confused your friends a bit.  
"Wait, he's not? ...[y/n], it's time to move on. Let's face it, you're not a very good pick." Zhen comforted. "He's a player after all. It's probably happened to all kinds of girls." Although, in any context, the comment didn't make you feel any comfort whatsoever. Perhaps it was best to just agree and cut this fiasco short.

"Y-yeah.. I guess you're right.. " you said, turning to walk back home.

But just as you thought you could get away with such a ridiculous fabrication, the situation got worse.

"Oh, hey! If it isn't [y/n]?" someone called from the water tribe-themed restaurant. "Yeah, our leading lady from the other night! Thanks for taking Tahno for the night!" a teammate waved.  
You cursed repeatedly as you turned to see Ming and Shaozu of the White Falls Wolfbats.

Lord, God, just go away, dammit.

You turned around and put on the best smile a person possibly could. "No problem!" The boys laughed pleasantly and walked to you and your friends. "Woahhh, you're actually pretty easy on the eyes like that. Why isn't that guy dating you again?"

You hadn't known who the speaker was, but it didn't matter that much anyways. You just hoped your friends wouldn't snap or anything at their gestures.

The two of them laughed at the joke, knowing the predicament they had been in that prompted you to meet, and you thought you were having heart palpitations. "Ha.. Haha.." You laughed nervously. One of your friends took you by the shoulder and forced you to walk in the other direction with the duo close by, blocking off the boys. Soon enough, however, you found yourself being pulled into a human tug-of-war between two pro-benders and your aggressive earth-bender friends. At any rate, you'd be pulled in half if the two groups started to even pinch at you!

Not good, not good! You opened your mouth to shriek—

"No one told me there'd be a party."

At the creamy voice, the foursome looked from you to a man who had apparently just walked out of the restaurant. His expression was cold, albeit confused. He obviously hadn't remembered who you were nor what you did for him the other night and you could tell from the look on his face that he had no interest in you at all.

He shook his wavy hair out of his face and let his pointer finger fall in your direction. "..Since when did you start liking girls like _her_..?" the man said with a clearly condescending tone, "Man, have your standards dropped.." he continued, shaking his head. The boys finally let go of you, and so did Zhen and Asa. You let out a small sigh of relief and sunk back into your own skin. Ah, thank _GOD._

Then suddenly, grabbing-!

-8:07 PM-

"Huff… huff…"

"Ah, [y/n]!"

"…"

"[Y/N]!" the waterbender shook your hand off violently as you rounded the corner and stopped at a small alleyway. You looked at him, and he shoved you in the crammed space, following closely behind.

Right.. so.. the situation right now? You backtracked. A few minutes ago, you were saved from being stretched to death by this guy right in front of you, ..Tahno? Unfortunately, the fake boyfriend you had chosen wasn't as busy as you thought he'd be, and your over-protective friends had snapped at him after he insulted you.. sort of. You had tried to play the fiery-in-love(-yet-dumped-and-heart-broken) girlfriend by saying he always jokes around like that and that you were in a very flexible relationship because you wanted to remain chaste—The wolfbats have no freaking clue what you're talking about—You try to cover his mouth to prevent him from saying anything—the girls come at him—and BAM. You were running away from your friends and the pro-bender's teammates.

The man slicked his jet-black hair out of his face, only to let it fall in place again, then stared at you intensely. The look he gave you emanated a dark aura that said 'Tell me what's going on or else I'll throw you off the bridge.' You instinctively looked down at your shoes, but you could still feel those eyes burning on your head. You felt like you were going to start losing hair soon.

-8:12 PM-

"Listen, I can be a reasonable guy." You could hear him waterbending the sweat from himself. "But I'll freeze you in this sweat-water if you don't explain this mess to me." You looked up and immediately caught a glance of the water orb he was holding over your head. Shoot. He wasn't joking. _What do I do!_ You weren't a bender or anything. You'd taken some martial arts classes when you were little, but you were out of practice. What if he actually froze you in water! Maybe you should just tell him it was a prank..? Or maybe that your friends pressured you to do it..? You ruffled your [h/c] hair in frustration and looked to the side, and you felt the temperature increase by at least twenty degrees between the two of you as the wolfbat leaned in closer and put a hand at the side of your head.

"I'm waiting—"

"I told them you were my boyfriend, okay?"

"Boyfrie—You're kidding."

"Oh yes. I'm joking. I wanted to prank you so hard that I told my friends to Earthbend and rage-chase after you. Hardy-har-har."

"Aren't you a card."

Ooh—that's it. Stupid jerkbender.

"Hey! Hey, hey, look, buddy. I'm sure you don't remember, but I helped you out big-time last night. I mean, embarrassing, covered up for your sorry butt and took you home, _humiliating_. Couldn't you at least do me this favor?"

The pale man just stared at you silently, and you realized you were looking straight into his eyes. Switching your sights to the wall behind him, you couldn't help but wonder, why were you doing this? You'd been challenged by and embarrassed in front of your friends before. Getting a good stare-down from this jerk totally wasn't worth your pride. What was pride anyways? Whatever it was. This just. Wasn't. Worth it.

You heard the water being released from its place in the air and you tensed up in anticipation.

_Splish._

"Okay."

You were dry.

_Okay…_

Wait **what**! C-come again? Did he really just say that? He said _**okay**__?_ Your neck snapped towards him. His face was stoic. He raised his eyebrow as you continued to stare at him, struck mute with disbelief. As if sensing your confusion, he spoke again.

"What's the favor." He stated bluntly.

"U-uh, well, if you could, um." You cleared your throat nervously. You weren't actually asking him out for _real_ or anything, but this was still embarrassing. The next words that came out of your mouth were said so fast that it all seemed like one jumbled-up word:

"Just pretend to be my boyfriend for a little while until my friends can calm down and we can have a spat and 'break-up' or whatever." You kept your eyes on his collar and waited for an outrageous answer. But in your state of mind, continued to ramble on about useless details. "You can still hang out with your dude-friends and go out with other girls, like, it's not like we're actually dating or anything, you know, like, it's just to shaddup my friends, and—"

"Fine by me." Came his answer. "No strings attached? We hold hands for a little bit, and then break it off?" there was a pause, as if he was thinking about it. "Better than feeling indebt to someone I don't know." You would have thought how you probably would have said the same thing, if it weren't for your total distrust in your ears' sound receptors and your brain's reality processing abilities at the moment. Maybe you just wanted this so _bad _that your mind was just creating this new world over real life for you.

'…Hm…Thanks, mind.' You nodded to yourself.

You relaxed a bit as the flow of cool, fresh air was restored when Tahno backed away. Without realizing it, you had slouched a bit and let out a nice, long sigh while enjoying the caress of the night air on your skin. And the jerkbender snorted at you a bit. He held out his hand and you reluctantly put yours in it.

"Close your eyes."

What. Fine. You closed your eyes and waited. 'Sweet Cherubs, don't kiss me..' Because we all know that would have been pretty awkward.

Instead, you felt something cold and solid being pressed into your palm. Your eyes shot open and you tried to pull your hand back on reflex, but the bender held the ice firmly in place.

"Wh-what.." An ice rose?

Just the head. No stem. Just a simple, open rose head. And it looked like something white was frozen in the center. You stared at it, then at the guy's face. He just smirked and removed his hand from under yours and into his pocket.

"That's my address. I take the bus near that building every morning and I go to the gym, after that I mess around town with the guys."

"Why the heck would I—"

"—If we're going to pretend to be a couple, the best I could do is give you _private lessons_." He smirked before walking out of the alley and stopping at the entrance, his back still facing you. "So if you're free, I better see you there tomorrow morning, got it, sweetheart..?"

"..Sweetheart..?"

And he just leaves.

**WHAT WAS THAT! Who ever said they **_**wanted **_**"Private Lessons"!**

You decided you would kick him in the tenders the next time you saw him before also leaving the alley.

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Leave a review and tell me what you liked/disliked about it! Be brutal, I can handle it! :'D


	2. Deep Water

The Second Trial

Tahno x Reader

* * *

"Don't judge me.." you sighed as you sat awkwardly between your friends. They had come to your place very early in the morning and had let themselves in as soon as you greeted them at the door, forcing you to sit down in between them on your too-small couch in your too-small living room. You didn't particularly want to be bothered about this issue at the moment; and maybe it was just the cramps in your stomach, or the sudden craving for lots and lots of hard earned rocky road ice cream smothered in chocolate and topped off with a generous slab of whip cream on top, but you were pretty sure mother nature was going to have a fun time screwing you over this week.

Spirits, was this really happening?

"Stop going out with that guy." Zhenzhen came out and said it.

"No." You spat defiantly. "It's not over yet. I'm waiting until-"

"He breaks up with you?" Asa interrupted. You probably shouldn't have cared as much as you did, but man, this was pretty infuriating. You whistled for your pandapug to come towards you before shooting up from the couch and grabbing your key. "C'mon, Tigi. We're going to go see Tahno." Now if only you weren't too early and didn't end up looking desperate.

You arrived at the bus stop after only a few blocks, and a few wrong turns here and there.

"Well, this is it, Tigs. He ain't here. Think we came too early?"

The small black and white animal looked up at you with large eyes and gave a growl and a small bark.

"Arf!"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the girl from before.. What was your name again? [Y/n]? Oh wait, or was it Jun..?" you turned to look at the source of the voice, and found a smug wolfbat, feigning a look of ignorance.

"This jerk.. really?" You didn't need to be here. No. You could just go home and explain everything to your friends. Then all of this would be over.

"What is.. that?" the pro-bender said, pointing down at the living thing standing next to your foot. It growled at him again, showing his teeth, and you leaned down to try to calm him down.

"His name is Itigiaq. And he is a pandapug. And one of the cutest things in the world. Way cuter than you.." You said, returning the look.

"Ih.. tee..gihl..ac?"

"Ee-tee-gee-ack."

"Whatever." He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, why'd you come so early? Afraid I'd leave you or something?" he smirked.

You let out a noise that was between a laugh and an anguished moan. "No, no, no. Don't misunderstand me. I came out early because I was kicked out of my apartment. There is nowhere to go right now that's actually open and in walking distance, so I just thought I'd wait for you here and rub it in your face how late you are." Lies.

"Tch." Tahno finally let his face settle into an expression other than his usual smirk as he walked over to the bench behind you and took a seat. "You're really unattractive, you know that?" He said bluntly, his face going back to normal as he patted the seat next to him, gesturing for you to sit down. It was almost like you had never seen that other face before. Huh. And he almost looked human that way.

"Well, you're not exactly as attractive as you think you are, bub." You retorted, taking a seat as far away from him as possible and laying Itigiaq down on your lap. You began to pet him.

You looked up from the small animal to look at Tahno who was staring at you intently. He opened his mouth to say something, but you slapped your hand over his mouth. You scooted in undesirably close to his side and leaned into him, whispering quickly, "Hold me, hold me." And he did without hesitating; he forced you even closer to him with his one arm, and from afar you two surely would have looked like a very close couple. If only it wasn't summer and you weren't wearing a long sleeve shirt and dark pants.

"So that's where you went, running off like that." You heard a familiar voice rant. "Honestly, we're going to have to walk about this some ti—" The two girls stopped walking at the site of the man holding you closely. "[Y/n]. What are you doing with him!"

You stayed silent and looked in the other direction. Maybe if you avoid eye-contact they'll go away. You waited for them to do something, when Tahno stepped in. "Hey there." He said, turning his player face on. Which your friends answered with confused faces. "What are you—!" one of the girls quickly advanced towards him, but you quickly flung your body on top of him, your chest landing on his chest in the most unpleasant manner-and poor little Tigs stuck between your stomachs.. Hey, don't you think you're laying this on a little bit too thick?

Maybe a little.

"D-don't touch him! He didn't do anything wrong, that's just how he is with everyone!" You said through gritted teeth. You slowly got off of him, keeping your face hidden from the girls. "Honey." You said, almost feeling something coming back up, "Why don't you and me go take this to somewhere more private."

He grinned wildly. You could see it in his eyes. His eyes were laughing at you, and as if Tigs was acting for you, he snarled.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." He said, pushing you off of him so he could stand. He tucked the panda-like animal under his arm and snaked an arm around you. He gave a smile to your friends before turning around and giving your hips a firm tug. "It's about time you took me up on those private lessons." You have him a blow to the gut and faked some laughter to cover up his setting Tigi down and bending over himself. "Hahaha! Funny, Tahno! You're so funny!"

"I told you not to take this the wrong way!"

"I was only playing along!" he managed a crooked smile.

"..Whatever." Call it whatever you want, that was still dirty!

Click. Click.

Tahno turned his key to what looked like it may have been his apartment and he opened the door, letting you in. You walked inside, Itigiaq following closely behind you, wondering at once why he wasn't stopping the pug to enter. You looked at him curiously as he walked inside and locked the door, setting his key down on a nearby side-table. Once he noticed you staring at him, he walked towards you, getting uncomfortably close.

"U-uhm, what are you doing..?" you asked, a hint of nervousness in your voice. But he simply smirked and took of the top layer of his shirt, reaching behind you and pushing your face into his shirt.

Wasn't he just making fun of you earlier? He was just telling you about how unattractive you were a few minutes ago. What was happening? Does this make any sense?

He seemed to hook something behind you, and then he pulled away. Oh.. he was just hanging his shirt thing.. You unconsciously let out a breath of air, and he laughed at you, his chuckles amplified by the sheer emptiness (and cleanliness) of his living space. Couldn't he have just asked you to scoot over? Why did he have to stick his chest in your face.. You walked away from him and turned to mask the blush growing on your face from overthinking.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything, you charmless girl."

"How insulting!"

"Did you want me to do something?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then stop acting like you're trying to seducing me."

"I'm not trying to!"

"Is that right? Fine. Then make yourself at home. If you keep looking around like a scared baby rabbaroo, I might actually do something bad."

Was that a threat?

"So why don't you be a good girl and go sit on the couch."

We'll take that as a yes.

You walked over to the couch in the middle of the space and looked around. The space felt big, but it might have actually been smaller than your own apartment. It was a studio layout, no rooms, and no extra doors, except for the one leading into what may have been a bathroom, and one with a shirt hanging on the knob, which you assumed to be a closet.

You looked down to his coffee table, where a radio sat, waiting to be switched on.

"Do you mind if I..?" You said pointing to it.

"I was just about to ask you to anyways. Go for it."

You turned the thing on, and increased the volume to an audible level. Why was it on so low anyways? You'd think a guy like him would have a lot of people listening with him, right? Unless he was actually alone all this time.. The quiet that had welcomed them earlier was dulling..

And while we're on the topic of wondering about him right now, why exactly had he agreed to help you? No, why was he going to these lengths to help you? From first glance, you'd definitely think that he would have shot you right down the moment you brought up having lied to your friends about having a boyfriend.

His voice shattered your thoughts as he asked you if you wanted something to drink.

"What do you have..?"

"Eh, there's water, some ale, lemonade, lemon soda.."

"I'll just have some water then, thanks."

"Sure thing, sweetheart."

You watched him quietly as he bent some water into a cup for the both of you and sat down on the couch close to the radio. He set your cup down in front of you and began to gulp his down as he leaned in closely to the radio. It was a fire-ferret's match. It was unexpected, seeing as how he didn't seem to see them as a threat in his interviews, but I guess this was a good way of learning your opponent's weaknesses, right?

He stopped as he brought the cup to his face as he glanced at you, doing a double-take at how intently you were staring at him.

"What is it?"

"…"

"Well?"

"..."

"..Go for it."

"..We're not in public anymore, could you not call me 'sweetheart'?"

"Sure thing, honey."

Sigh.

So many things you didn't know about him.

* * *

I hope this has been an enjoyable read and I'd love to hear any kind of feedback!

Although, if you didn't like it, at least tell me why, so I can work on my flaws..


	3. You're a Riot

Here's the final installment of _First Trials_! I want to thank you all for being such a lovely audience, and I apologize for not being able to update more quickly. Hopefully this long chapter can make up for even a small fraction of your disappointment.. No? Okay.

* * *

—Three: You're a Riot—

"Here you go. Lined with luck, just how you like it." you said, almost sarcastically as you handed the wolfbat his helmet. You couldn't believe you actually said that.

"Thanks, babe." he thanked you and you gasped as he suddenly pulled you in closer to gently place a soft kiss at your forehead.

"Hey..."

He scoffed at your reaction, ruffling your hair lightly before putting on his helmet and heading out to the arena; but not before winking at you.

This had certainly progressed quickly, you thought. Now let's just rewind two weeks earlier, when you found yourself stuck at Tahno's place for the day. Right, the day when he stuck his chest in your face at his place and you both ended up listening to a Fire Ferrets match.

[A few nights before]

"..How long are you planning on staying here?" he had asked you during a break between the matches. A sponsor continue to shamelessly advertise its services in the background as you stared at him intently—which, by the spirits you really hadn't meant to do—but there was just something about his face that kept your eyes more than happy to openly stare at. But, Avatar Kyoshi, those eyes! You tore yourself from your mind palace, as realization hit you.

"You're staring at me like I grew another head here."

"Oh!"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry, I just—your eyes—they—um—they're—well-"

"-Beautiful, I know. Now back to my question, how long are you staying here?"

"Pff, you're a riot." You had to give him credit for being hysterical. "Long enough to scare the earthbenders. I don't think they'll go away until I give them a scare. Do you have a date tonight? Do you mind if I stay over a late while?"

He grinned widely at you and let his head back as he laughed, obviously enjoying something that you had said. "I just love how you can come up with these plans! I bet you'd have the best time if you could actually get a boyfriend!"

"Hey, I could get a boyfriend if I wanted!"

"Don't worry about it, you innocent little girl, it makes you adorable; which is actually quite hard for you, since you're so hot-blooded."

"I answered your question! Now could you please answer mine?" You struggled feebly to make him change the subject, but he kept teasing you about how pure you actually were when it came to this subject.

He finally stopped when you turned and stood silent.

"Hey."

"_What_."

"Look at me."

"_No_."

He slightly massaged the area between your neck and your shoulder as he chided you to look at him, and after a while you just had to give in. It wasn't because he was a smooth operator or anything, though. It was just that he was rubbing you like a buddy, and your nape was sobbing from the pressure. You two made eye-contact, and sat like that for a while. Until, he finally chuckled and mumbled something like 'cutie' under his breath.

"I don't have any dates or 'appointments' today, so you're free to take the spot."

"Look, I'm not asking you because I have to. I could rent a hotel or something instead of staying here, if you want someone to do something with, you better find someone else."

"Well, go ahead then. Cryin' shame though, I'd never do anything with someone so wanton. I mean, unless _they asked_." Boy was he making it sound like you were asking for something.

"Hey, mister! I see what you're doing there! It's not going to work on me though, you hear? No, sir! Not on me; no funny business, you got that?"

"Not a problem, princess." He chuckled it off casually, like he totally had not just insulted your womanhood or pride or whatever any of that was. Instead, he just moved on to the next topic. The day went on just like that, too. He'd take shots at you, then say something that totally flustered you, say something insulting again, and then start talking about something else, working a giggle or two out of you; no matter how weird it was. It felt like you were only sitting there for a few minutes, when you realized it was time to go to bed.

"Alright, well I have to work tomorrow. So, if you wouldn't mind, could you show me where I should sleep?"

"Sure thing," he replied almost right away, getting up and moving his coffee table. He unfolded the couch into a bed, then walked over to his closet and grabbed a few blankets and pillows, laying them down in front of you.

"Am I sleeping here then?" You asked, pointing to the foldable contraption.

"Yup. Right here." He said, copying your action. He took a pillow and put it at the head of the bed, slinging the blanket over his shoulders as he headed to the bathroom to clean up for bed.

"Wait!" you followed after him into the bathroom, entering as he laid down some minty white paste on his toothbrush.

"Wha' ish it?" he said through the foam as he proceeded to brush. He gave you an extra brush and some paste, then laid himself down on the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes and getting all cozy and all. You followed after him as you finished up, stopping at the foot of the bed in a fit of hesitation, looking around aimlessly for some room on the couch other than the actual vacant space on the bed next to the probender.

"Where.. where am I sleeping…?" you almost whispered.

He stretched out his right arm on the pillow next to him, "Here."

"Wh-what..?"

"_Come here and let me spoon you, little sis. _Mind if I call you that for now?"

"But.. but.." you'd have said 'I don't wanna!' but you'd be lying to yourself, even if he did just call you little sis.

"I… I guess just for tonight. No getting funny."

"Alright, get over here." He said, lifting the arm on his eyes a bit so he could see you then beckoning to you with his open hand. You slowly obliged, planting your head on his arm pillow and making sure to face the other direction so you didn't have to look at that irritatingly dashing face of his. You almost couldn't fall asleep from the tickle of his breath on your neck and the erratic beating in your chest.

[9:00 AM]

"Hey, wanna give me those glasses over there?"

"Got'em." You said, passing him the glasses from the previous night. You dropped them into the sink, and he bent water on them, completely ignoring the fact that there was a perfectly unwashed sponge next to the faucet. '_Must be nice to be a waterbender'_, you thought to yourself. You suddenly remembered an incident with the equalists and how well that went for benders in Republic City. Wasn't Tahno.. one of the first people to get his bending taken away? How did he get it back..?

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Huh?"

He smirked and laughed at your oblivion. "You were thinking pretty hard just then; what about?"

"Oh, um…" You figured it wouldn't hurt to ask and went for it anyways, "Remember when the Equalists took over Republic City for a short while back when Amon was in the big?"

He tensed a bit, but didn't really show any discomfort about continuing, "Yeah, why?"

"How did you get your bending back?"

"Korra."

"I kinda figured, but…" Did he try to find her or something? You distinctly remember that that Team Avatar was living on the island with Tenzin's family and the air acolytes, and if your memory wasn't completely failing you, the Avatar hadn't the warmest feelings about this particular waterbender.

"Yeah.. well, let's just say I had something to tell her that day."

"You make it sound like you went to confess to her or something."

There was an awkward silence as you both stopped working and the two of you looked over at each other, Tahno's face completely stoned over that you had to work yourself out of the good mood and seriously take it in for a moment.

"That's because I _did_."

"Oh…"

"It didn't work out too well, though. As you can see," he held an arm out to his empty apartment, "She helped me out in the end, but she…was already with that Fire Ferret jerk, so that was definitely a bust."

"You aren't exactly a bed of roses, you know." You had to tease.

"Hey, I will have you know I am a glorious bed of sweet-smelling roses, thanks babe."

"You're a riot."

[2:00 PM]

So, after a few hours of laborious chores and various visits to the market and other places, you found yourselves sitting down on a bench at the park in your sweaty work clothes.

"Why did you wait until now to clean out your apartment again?"

"I never had anyone to help out."

"Seriously? Don't your guy friends ever come over to play?"

"Fff, _no_. It sounds pretty strange but I always feel overly conscious when people come over my place."

"I don't understand why you would though, I mean, I thought your place was _immaculate_ until we started cleaning all that junk out of your closet and stuff."

"Hahaha, _exactly_."

[5:00 PM]

"Tahno?" you whispered as you walked along the sidewalk together.

"Sup, sweet cheeks?" he replied. He was on your left, clearly applying the man-always-to-the-side-of-traffic rule.

You shouldered him to look to the right, where two familiar figures were standing. He took you by surprise this time, though, taking your hand and lacing your fingers it with his, lightly squeezing; as if to give you strength. You two walked on, looking to the road at your left to avoid eye contact with the earthbenders, at some point, you squished into him a lot closer than you really should have, but he really didn't seem to mind, he squished in as well, in fact. It felt nice. Cozy, even.

[8:00 PM]

You were still holding hands. Of course, you had separated every once in a while to look at things, go the bathroom, wash your hands, things like that, but whenever you two started walking together, it just happened. The inevitable link; like two monkeys in those can thingies you used to buy as a kid. It just felt so natural, it wasn't something you had to think about, and it didn't matter how sweaty and gross your hands were. It was great.

You went around town, picked up an abundance of food from random street stands, and walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Until you finally decided to sit down at a café and order some warm drinks to help you finish of your food. It was Tahno that started the conversation.

"Hm?"

"I said there's sooo much food here."

"I know.. What were we even thinking!?"

"Haha, I guess we weren't. You just picked out everything that looked good and I was just standing there happy to pay for everything you wanted."

"We probably looked like a couple out there."

"…Yeah…"

"Well, anyways…"

"Anyways…"

You were staring each other down with these exceedingly expectant looks on your faces, and when you realized it, you attempted to brighten up the mood.

"Let's dig in!"

"[Y/n]." He said it so seriously, with a hint of urgency in his voice. You ripped your eyes from the pile of food to his face.

"U-um.. yeah?"

"Do you.. wanna try it out?"

"Try.. what out?"

"I dunno. This. Us."

"Sounds awfully poetic of you."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hahaa…Are… you being serious…?"

He just smiled at you a bit, then picked up something on a stick from the food pile. "This looks good," he said before biting at it.

Any other questions you had about what he said he found a way of talking around. You never did know if he was joking or not.

[10:00 PM a few nights later]

You slowly sank down to the floor as you closed the apartment door behind you. The umpteenth rose Tahno had given you was now a pool of water spilling out of your still cupped hand, and the little slip with the venue address was surprisingly still intact. You'd watched the thing melt as you walked the streets alone, and by the looks of it earlier, the paper wasn't waterproof or anything, and yet there it was, completely dry. Damn him and his incomprehensible dating methods.

Maybe that was like how your situation with Tahno was right now. Something that looks like it might not work out on the outside, but is actually a pretty good idea… You reached up to lock your door, then got up and switched the lights on. Walking over to your cabinets, you rummaged through the first door for some maps and took a slightly outdated map of Republic City out. It was only a year and a half or two old. You figured it would do. You made a stop at your refrigerator before heading to your couch with ice cream tub and map in hand. You switched on the radio to the pro-bending match.

And now, give it up for…_The White Falls Wolfbats!_ [[crowd roars]]

"Oh, lucky me..." You said monotonously, rolling your eyes and taking a scoop of your ice cream.

[11:07 PM]

You fell, face first, into your sheets. It was weird. There was this feeling tightening in your chest and a ticklish feeling going on in your stomach. Was this.. excitement? Were you actually excited to see that wooshy-haired guy? You looked up from the pillow as you realized you couldn't breathe, and inhaled deeply. You were the one who started this. This was all just to fool your friends, although you were quite sure that was already accomplished. And you were pretty sure that it had been obvious to Tahno as well, but he kept insisting that you go out together just to make sure that they saw you together one more time…At places you were certain they wouldn't even go to. He wasn't really hanging out with any other girls besides you, which kind of made you happy, which you were starting to grow a bit ashamed of, honestly. It was just so confusing. You couldn't tell where the acting stopped and your real feelings actually came into play. You tried to coax yourself into a slightly normal state, so you could at least go to sleep. But the thoughts just kept coming.

Maybe you actually liked him..?

LIKED HIM, liked him?

Even just a little?

Your face burned up just thinking about it; maybe you just felt that way because you kept thinking about it! Thanks, over-active imagination.

In all seriousness, though. A little over-exposure might have been what was really triggering this madness. Maybe it was for the best that you stayed away from Tahno for a while..

* * *

I really would love to thank you all for the kind comments! They really kept me going! Thanks for reading!


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